The news quickly spread back to Jinan. It was already dark, but all the yamens in Jinan were still brightly lit.
Not only had the court sent an imperial envoy, but they had also sent an army. This was definitely a big deal!
Wang Zongmu sat in the main hall of the Inspector-General's yamen and swept his gaze over his subordinates expressionlessly.
In a province like Shandong, one could imagine how deeply involved these officials were with the Shandong gentry, especially since there was a sage family like the Kong family in Shandong.
Now that the court had sent an imperial envoy and the Capital Camp, how could they not be flustered?
It had to be known that the court was not only collecting taxes from Shandong, but also from the two capitals and thirteen provinces.
Why had the imperial envoy come directly to Shandong? Not only had the imperial envoy come, but they had also sent the Imperial Bodyguard and the Capital Camp. It was obvious that they were on guard.
Was it really just to collect taxes that the court was making such a big fuss?
Any official in Shandong who had a guilty conscience would be scared.
Shandong wasn't far from Hejian Prefecture, and the blood of the officials there hadn't dried yet!
As for Wang Zongmu, he was unperturbed. It had nothing to do with him anyway.
Besides, even if he was implicated, Wang Zongmu wasn't afraid.
He wasn't corrupt or biased. At most, he would be accused of incompetence.
At most, he would be dismissed from his post. He wasn't worried at all.
The yamen was in a big mess, so it was impossible for the imperial envoy's office not to hear the news. Wang Yongji hadn't expected Xu De to come, and he had even brought people from the Capital Camp.
Could it be that the emperor couldn't wait any longer?
This made Wang Yongji tremble with fear.
Compared to the fear in the city, Xu De slept very well outside the city.
The next morning, Xu De wasn't in a hurry to enter the city. He ate breakfast and then entered the city with his people.
As for the people greeting him at the city gate, Xu De directly dismissed them with the excuse that he wasn't feeling well. He couldn't be bothered to see them.
When he arrived at the imperial envoy's office, Xu De finally showed his face when he saw Wang Yongji.
"Eunuch Xu!"
After greeting each other, Wang Yongji said, "Why did Eunuch Xu come to Shandong in such a hurry?"
Xu De did not hide anything. He said with a smile, "I was ordered by the Imperial Majesty to pay my respects to Duke Yan's Residence and to pay respects to the Saint on behalf of the Imperial Majesty."
Wang Yongji was stunned. This place was so strong, but he instantly understood what Zhu Yijun meant.
To put it nicely, they were here to express their condolences. To put it bluntly, they were here to pressure the Kong family.
If it was just a simple greeting, it should have been the Ministry of Rites who came, not Xu De, the inner factory supervisor.
Compared to the others, Wang Yongji understood Xu De better. After all, he had many subordinates from the Inner Works, and he had dealt with the Inner Works quite a bit.
When the emperor sent Xu De to the Kong Family, he must have felt that he was using his strength to suppress them.
"So that's how it is!" Wang Yongji nodded.
In fact, Wang Yongji was also very curious about what Xu De was going to do, but Wang Yongji knew that he could not ask. Even if he did, Xu De would not say anything, and it would only make him unhappy. So, Wang Yongji did not ask.
Xu De only stayed in the imperial envoy's temporary residence for a day before leaving Jinan Prefecture with his people.
He did not meet with Xu De and went straight to Qufu. The emperor had sent Xu De to pay respects to the Saint and to Duke Yan. The news of the emperor sending Xu De to pay respects to the Saint and Duke Yan spread.
Many people in Shandong's officialdom were thinking about this matter, but no one knew what Xu De was going to do, even though everyone knew that it was not as simple as paying respects to the Saint.
Qufu wasn't a very big place, nor was it a major military location, but Qufu's reputation was very big.
In ancient times, it was the capital of Lu and the hometown of Confucius. For this reason, Qufu was a holy land in the hearts of scholars.
The news of Xu De's arrival had spread to Qufu yesterday, and the Kong family naturally had to make preparations.
The emperor sent people to pay respects to Confucius and to Duke Yan. Although he knew that things were not as simple as they seemed, he still had to put on a show.
The etiquette had to be thorough, and the attitude had to be respectful. If they were caught, it would be troublesome if they were accused of looking down on the imperial power.
When Xu De arrived, the current Duke Yan, Kong Shangxian, was already waiting outside the Kong family's residence.
The Kong family occupied 200 acres, which was definitely a large mansion. It should be known that the Forbidden City only occupied 1,000 acres, and that included the West Court and other gardens.
The Kong family was equivalent to one-fifth of the Forbidden City, which showed its scale.
The ceremony went on for a whole day, all according to the ancient etiquette, which the Kong family was good at anyway.
At night, Xu De was exhausted after a day of torment, but he could not rest because Duke Yan wanted to treat him to a meal.
Naturally, Xu De was starving, so he happily went and ate a big meal.
But when the food was on the table, Xu De felt a headache. Just this?
He did not know what kind of etiquette it was. Not to mention the simple food, the cooking was also simple, or rather, rough.
The key was that there was still etiquette when eating. After eating, not only was he not full, but he was also more tired.
Xu De looked at Kong Shangxian, who was sitting in the main seat, and his face was a little unfriendly.
Old man, are you deliberately torturing me?
Xu De did not have any reverence for Kong Shangxian.
Although Xu De called him an old man, Kong Shangxian was not even 40 years old. But Xu De knew this old man very well, so he did not have a good impression of him.
The reason was because of something that happened a few years ago, and that was the incident of Kong Shangxian's scalping.
That was when Zhang Juzheng was still on the throne. As Duke Yan, Kong Shangxian had to go to the capital to see the emperor once a year.
Kong Shangxian used this opportunity to collect a large number of goods from Shandong to be sold in the capital. Not only did he not pay taxes along the way, but because he was going to see the emperor, he had the right and authority to stay at the courier station.
Every time, there was a flow of carriages and horses, and the people had to eat and feed the horses, which created a huge burden on the courier station.
But he was Duke Yan, so no one dared to say anything, and no one dared to do anything!
But there was someone who could not stand it, and that person was Zhang Juzheng. To Zhang Juzheng, so what if Duke Yan was Duke Yan? This kind of bad habit could not be tolerated.
So Zhang Juzheng sent out letters to the various courier stations, saying that when Duke Yan entered the capital to see the emperor, only Duke Yan was allowed to enter the courier station. No one else could.
Kong Shangxian had prepared a large number of goods, and he also had a lot of people. Moreover, the carriages and horses were extremely luxurious. If he was not allowed to enter the courier station, this transaction would be a huge loss.
One had to know that in this era, the biggest cost was the cost of transportation. Kong Shangxian did not suppress the cost, and he was extremely luxurious along the way. When he arrived in the capital and sold the goods, he realized that he had lost more than half of his money.
Kong Shangxian could not stand it and went to the Ministry of Rites to complain. In the end, not only did he not complain, but he was also reprimanded by Zhang Juzheng in the name of Zhu Yijun. Moreover, the annual court meeting was changed to once every three years.
That time, it was Xu De who went to deliver the imperial edict, so Xu De knew what kind of person Kong Shangxian was, and he also knew what kind of person the Kong family was.
Even now, Xu De could still remember the expression on the face of the Imperial Majesty at that time. It was really green and white, and he was just short of ordering people to behead Kong Shangxian.
In reality, the Zhu family was not very fond of the Kong family. This was because the founder of the Zhu family, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, came from a humble background. During his years as a monk, he had been a beggar. He had tasted the coldness and warmth of the world, so he was very clear about the character of a large family.
In addition, after rebelling for so many years, they believed that the strongest fist was the most powerful argument.
When it came to Emperor Zhu Di, there was no need to talk about it. He had started his family by rebelling, so he believed in his fist even more.
In addition, the Confucian school did not recognize him, and he had shaken the world by beheading Fang Xiaoru. This caused Emperor Zhu Di to dislike the Kong family even more.
There was no need to mention Zhu Yijun. He wanted nothing more than to chop up this group of scum.
One of the main reasons why Zhu Yijun was willing to use Zhang Juzheng and his subordinates was that they dared to do anything. They could even deal with the Kong family.
As long as they did not go too far, it was fine. Zhang Juzheng had slapped Kong Shangxian's face, but they did not object.
Kong Shangxian, on the other hand, did not care about what a eunuch could do to the Kong family.
Panting with rage, Xu De returned to the room that the Kong family had arranged for him. He knew that the matter this time was going to be bad.
Narrowing his eyes, Xu De ordered a young eunuch beside him, "Have our people prepare."
"Yes, Eunuch!" The young eunuch answered, turned around, and left.
The next day, Xu De expressed to the Kong family that he wanted to meet with Kong Shangxian and discuss in detail. However, the Kong family's reply was very cold.
Three days passed. Xu De waited for another three days, but Kong Shangxian still did not see him. This time, Xu De was not anxious.
Xu De was not anxious, but Wang Yongji was anxious. These few days, the tax collection was not going smoothly.
Not only did the local officials in Shandong refuse to cooperate, but they also did a lot of things to cause trouble.
In the past, the tax collectors were all local officials in Shandong. These people could get a large sum of money from the tax every year.
Now that this money was robbed, it would be strange if they could help the tax bureau.
Coupled with the local officials' disregard and connivance, the situation had become very bad in three days.
Wang Yongji's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He really wanted to ask how Xu De was doing things.
In Shandong, only by opening the Kong family's door could the whole of Shandong be revitalized. If the Kong family's door couldn't be opened, then Shandong would become very bad.
In a restaurant in Jinan, three people were sitting opposite each other, drinking and eating.
On the left was an old man in his fifties. He was a little chubby, had a white face, and squinted his eyes with a smile. He looked like a Maitreya Buddha.
Next to him was a young girl, about 14 or 15 years old. She pouted and looked at the old man unhappily.
Opposite them, a woman in her thirties was looking at the old man and the little girl with a bitter smile. She said helplessly, "Dad, don't tease Lian 'er!"
Only then did the old man reach out his hand and put the chicken leg in the girl's bowl. Then, he raised his head and said to the woman, "I'm afraid that Shandong is going to be chaotic. Our people need to continue adding fuel to the fire and make the whole of Shandong chaotic."
"I've already arranged people in Hebei and Henan. Once Shandong moves, the people there will also move."
The woman nodded. "We've contacted a lot of people to prepare for trouble. When the time comes, we'll rush into the imperial envoy's office in the name of the gentry and kill the imperial envoy. When that time comes, the gentry in Shandong will rise up with us."